PHP Operator is a symbol used to perform operations on operands. In simple words, operators are used to perform operations on variables or values.

Arithmetic Operators

The PHP arithmetic operators are used to perform common arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, etc. with numeric values.

OperatorNameExampleExplanation
+Addition$a + $bSum of operands
Subtraction$a – $bDifference of operands
*Multiplication$a * $bProduct of operands
/Division$a / $bQuotient of operands
%Modulus$a % $bRemainder of operands
**Exponentiation$a ** $b$a raised to the power $b

Assignment Operators

The assignment operators are used to assign value to different variables. The basic assignment operator is “=”.

OperatorNameExampleExplanation
=Assign$a = $bThe value of the right operand is assigned to the left operand.
+=Add then Assign$a += $bAddition same as $a = $a + $b
-=Subtract then Assign$a -= $bSubtraction same as $a = $a – $b
*=Multiply then Assign$a *= $bMultiplication same as $a = $a * $b
/=Divide then Assign(quotient)$a /= $bFind quotient same as $a = $a / $b
%=Divide then Assign(remainder)$a %= $bFind remainder same as $a = $a % $b

Bitwise Operators

The bitwise operators are used to perform bit-level operations on operands. These operators allow the evaluation and manipulation of specific bits within the integer.

OperatorNameExampleExplanation
&And$a & $bBits that are 1 in both $a and $b are set to 1, otherwise 0.
|Or (Inclusive or)$a | $bBits that are 1 in either $a or $b are set to 1
^Xor (Exclusive or)$a ^ $bBits that are 1 in either $a or $b are set to 0.
~Not~$aBits that are 1 set to 0 and bits that are 0 are set to 1
<<Shift left$a << $bLeft shift the bits of operand $a $b steps
>>Shift right$a >> $bRight shift the bits of $a operand by $b number of places

Comparison Operators

Comparison operators allow comparing two values, such as number or string. Below the list of comparison operators are given:

OperatorNameExampleExplanation
==Equal$a == $bReturn TRUE if $a is equal to $b
===Identical$a === $bReturn TRUE if $a is equal to $b, and they are of same data type
!==Not identical$a !== $bReturn TRUE if $a is not equal to $b, and they are not of same data type
!=Not equal$a != $bReturn TRUE if $a is not equal to $b
<>Not equal$a <> $bReturn TRUE if $a is not equal to $b
<Less than$a < $bReturn TRUE if $a is less than $b
>Greater than$a > $bReturn TRUE if $a is greater than $b
<=Less than or equal to$a <= $bReturn TRUE if $a is less than or equal $b
>=Greater than or equal to$a >= $bReturn TRUE if $a is greater than or equal $b
<=>Spaceship$a <=>$bReturn -1 if $a is less than $bReturn 0 if $a is equal $bReturn 1 if $a is greater than $b

Incrementing/Decrementing Operators

The increment and decrement operators are used to increase and decrease the value of a variable.

OperatorNameExampleExplanation
++Increment++$aIncrement the value of $a by one, then return $a
$a++Return $a, then increment the value of $a by one
decrement–$aDecrement the value of $a by one, then return $a
$a–Return $a, then decrement the value of $a by one

Logical Operators

The logical operators are used to perform bit-level operations on operands. These operators allow the evaluation and manipulation of specific bits within the integer.

OperatorNameExampleExplanation
andAnd$a and $bReturn TRUE if both $a and $b are true
OrOr$a or $bReturn TRUE if either $a or $b is true
xorXor$a xor $bReturn TRUE if either $ or $b is true but not both
!Not! $aReturn TRUE if $a is not true
&&And$a && $bReturn TRUE if either $a and $b are true
||Or$a || $bReturn TRUE if either $a or $b is true

String Operators

The string operators are used to perform the operation on strings. There are two string operators in PHP, which are given below:

OperatorNameExampleExplanation
.Concatenation$a . $bConcatenate both $a and $b
.=Concatenation and Assignment$a .= $bFirst concatenate $a and $b, then assign the concatenated string to $a, e.g. $a = $a . $b

Array Operators

The array operators are used in case of array. Basically, these operators are used to compare the values of arrays.

OperatorNameExampleExplanation
+Union$a + $yUnion of $a and $b
==Equality$a == $bReturn TRUE if $a and $b have same key/value pair
!=Inequality$a != $bReturn TRUE if $a is not equal to $b
===Identity$a === $bReturn TRUE if $a and $b have same key/value pair of same type in same order
!==Non-Identity$a !== $bReturn TRUE if $a is not identical to $b
<>Inequality$a <> $bReturn TRUE if $a is not equal to $b